Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Occaisional Quote:
I don't build in order to have clients. I have clients in order to build. -Howard Roark in "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand
Arguing Religion
This is from Ian Hamet who got it from Raving Athiest.
Can you believe how [intelligence-denigrating adjective] people who believe in
[name of religion] are? Just look at what [name of religious leader/blogger]
said [or did]: [Fill in objectionable claim or conduct of religious leader/blogger]What a [expletive] moron! Doesn’t he know that [fill in scientific evidence
refuting leader’s claim or rationale for conduct]? Moreover, can’t he see
that [identify internal logical contradiction in claim or rationale for conduct]?
Sunday, September 25, 2005
North Korea
I always pay close attention to what defectors from tyranical countries say. Diana has an interesting post at NoodleFood. There are some comments about the North Korean leader and his MO that are very interesting and reveiling. I think it is hard for Americans to imagine what living in a dictatorship is like and this is the closest we can come. In terms of fiction, Ayn Rand does an excellent job of concretizing what it is like in her novel "We the Living". There was also a non-fiction book called "MIG Pilot", which is an autobiographical account of a MIG pilot who defected in the '80's.
Stubborn
"Never try to out stubborn a cat!" -Robert Heinlein
I am currently in a stubborn contest with my (loaner) cat. He is very fussy about his food. This is so much so that he wants to have a different flavor of food every time I feed him. I don't know if this is unusual because I've never had a cat before. I do think it is unreasonable. He needs to finish the can before I'll move on to the next one. That is the rule and I'm sticking to it. I don't mind changing flavors, but not mid-can.
I am currently in a stubborn contest with my (loaner) cat. He is very fussy about his food. This is so much so that he wants to have a different flavor of food every time I feed him. I don't know if this is unusual because I've never had a cat before. I do think it is unreasonable. He needs to finish the can before I'll move on to the next one. That is the rule and I'm sticking to it. I don't mind changing flavors, but not mid-can.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Random Buffy Quote
Willow (about Buffy): "Guess she's out with Riley. You know what it's like with a spanking new boyfriend."
Anya (re: Xander): "Yes, we've enjoyed spanking."
later:
Buffy (about Riley's lunch selection): "... A Twinkie! That's his lunch? Oh, he is so gonna be punished."
Willow: "Everyone's getting spanked but me."
Anya (re: Xander): "Yes, we've enjoyed spanking."
later:
Buffy (about Riley's lunch selection): "... A Twinkie! That's his lunch? Oh, he is so gonna be punished."
Willow: "Everyone's getting spanked but me."
Monday, September 19, 2005
Take my love; Take my land
I'm so excited for Serenity to come out this Friday. Below are the lyrics to the theme song and the accompanying guitar chords. Sing along and learn to love Serenity.
Firefly Theme
written by Joss Whedon
sung by Sonny Rhodes
tabbed/chorded by Joe Dizzy
Firefly Theme
written by Joss Whedon
sung by Sonny Rhodes
tabbed/chorded by Joe Dizzy
Intro:
D----------0--3p0---0-
A-----0h3---------3----
E-----------------------
[D]Take my love
[C]Take my land
[G]Take me where I [F]cannot [C]stand
(some twang)
[F]I don't care
[C]I'm still free
[G]You can't take the [D]sky from me
(some other twang)
Take me out
To the black
Tell 'em I ain't coming back
(again with the twang)
Burn the land
And boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me
(sort of a twangy solo)
Have no place
I can be
Since I found Serenity
("I'll be in my twang")
But [F]you can't take the [C]sky from me
(it endeth not with a bang but with a twang)
57 Channels and Nothing on
So after years of life without cable, I finally caved in and got cable. Cable TV as in THE DISH. I'm still not set on it, but I can tell you my favorite feature already. It is the Season Pass. It will record a show every time it is on for the entire season. It is like I don't have to be at the TV to watch TV. It is like having your cake and eating it too. I know... I'm equivocating, but I still love it.
More on the HMS Lydia
Again, this was Hornblower's ship in "Beat to Quarters".
In this ship, Hornblower captured La Natividad, which was under Spanish domination. He surprised them and took the much larger ship without ever receiving a shot.
Unfortunately, he was required by orders to turn La Natividad over to a madman, with whom the British had allied themselves against Spain. Days later, Hornblower comes to find out that Spain and England are now allies.
Hornblower takes it upon himself, as his duty, to re-take La Natividad before she can sink a valuable Spanish cargo vessel.
The Lydia takes on the much larger Natividad in a fight to the death. At the end of the battle, Hornblower tows the Lydia across the becalmed sea into action. As the Lydia is towed, he has the men who dance the best jig compete for the top prize. Hornblower does this to keep the men's spirits high as they move slowly into action, but it cements his reputation as a man of iron nerves.
In this ship, Hornblower captured La Natividad, which was under Spanish domination. He surprised them and took the much larger ship without ever receiving a shot.
Unfortunately, he was required by orders to turn La Natividad over to a madman, with whom the British had allied themselves against Spain. Days later, Hornblower comes to find out that Spain and England are now allies.
Hornblower takes it upon himself, as his duty, to re-take La Natividad before she can sink a valuable Spanish cargo vessel.
The Lydia takes on the much larger Natividad in a fight to the death. At the end of the battle, Hornblower tows the Lydia across the becalmed sea into action. As the Lydia is towed, he has the men who dance the best jig compete for the top prize. Hornblower does this to keep the men's spirits high as they move slowly into action, but it cements his reputation as a man of iron nerves.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Strong Bad answers your emails
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Why HMS Lydia?
I don't have a good reason for naming the blog after one of Horatio Hornblower's first ships as captain. I just did. If you've never read Hornblower, you're in for a treat. Start with Mr. Midshipman Hornblower and follow his career from beginning to end.
The Seven Personalities of Sparky
I’m taking care of a friend's cat, Sparky, while she’s in Europe. I’m testing the waters of pet ownership. This is an update in to my temporary pet ownership experience.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve come to realize that my friend didn’t give me one cat, but seven. This cat has multiple personalities! I’ve named each of these sub-personalities with an “S” name other than Sparky.
Satan, Lord of the Underworld
For the first several days he lived not under my roof but under my furniture. He effectively ruled this area of my house. In his adjustment to the new environment he hissed and growled at any approaches. His rule was absolute. You couldn’t enter the underworld without permission and his grace.
Spitz, Mark-Olympic Champion
Sparky, once comfortable, began his nightly training for the Kitty Olympics. He would test his athletic skills by creating a race course. From the top of my headboard, around the outside of the bedroom, into the study. A quick stop to eat a bite and then he is off to the living room, under the couch, around the dining table, into the kitchen. Then with the precision of a racecar driver, rounding the curve to head back through the living room onto the scratching pad to sharpen his claws. And neck in neck with his imagined opponent, he’d race back in the bedroom and back to his post at the headboard.
What was truly amazing was his total discipline. Every morning, before most self-respecting Olympic athletes would wake up, Sparky would be up and training. In fact, one could say Sparky does more all night than the Army does before 7 am.
Socrates
After his Olympic training ended, my friend would turn into a polemicist. His meows and mews intended to convince me that 4:30am was not only the acceptable time to wake up and get him breakfast, but that it was part of the path to virtue. The form of the good, my feline philosopher would argue, comes in sacrificing my sleep for the greater good. The greater good, he explained in a sophisticated meow, consisted in stopping the rumbles in his belly.
Simba – The Lion
On day four, he became the hunting lion. He slowly moved into position to watch his prey from a safe spot where he could wait for the opportune moment. His patience like that of an Army sniper or a professional photographer…waiting for the perfect moment for the perfect shot.
He knew his prey was unaware of his silent approach. He slid forward as if floating on the air, eyes fixed on the prey. And at the perfect moment, he pounced. My unsuspecting toe, which, I apparently wiggle in my sleep, was the victim of Sparky’s lion attack. The small amount of blood he drew must have sated him, because he’s kept the Simba personality caged since then.
The Sophomore
He’s now been here a few weeks and another personality emerged: the sophomoric prankster. As I write this, he is constantly batting at the pen. If I stop to pet him, he’s not interested. When I start to write again, he makes the pen his play thing. The same thing happens when I type on the computer or read a book or do just about anything. When this personality comes out, you are at the mercy of a cat with a sense of humor.
The Stoic
One last personality hiding within this little beast is the stoic observer. Sparky climbs to the highest spot in the room to observe, to watch, to judge, without emotion. Often he assumes this posture as he watches out one of the windows. His watchful eyes catch everything. He acts as if he’s all knowing and totally indifferent.
I think my favorite personality of his is the one I call Sparky. The one that climbs on my lap, starts to purr, and, as I pet him, gradually begins to knead my pants. It is as if I’ve given a chocoholic “Death By Chocolate Ice Cream”. His enjoyment is complete and totally consumes him.
Sometimes this Sparky comes out as I’m reading. I’ll be on my back holding the book at a 90 degree angle on my chest and Sparky will nestle between my body and my upper arm making a home for himself. So I think I’ll keep calling him Sparky to keep this personality alive.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve come to realize that my friend didn’t give me one cat, but seven. This cat has multiple personalities! I’ve named each of these sub-personalities with an “S” name other than Sparky.
Satan, Lord of the Underworld
For the first several days he lived not under my roof but under my furniture. He effectively ruled this area of my house. In his adjustment to the new environment he hissed and growled at any approaches. His rule was absolute. You couldn’t enter the underworld without permission and his grace.
Spitz, Mark-Olympic Champion
Sparky, once comfortable, began his nightly training for the Kitty Olympics. He would test his athletic skills by creating a race course. From the top of my headboard, around the outside of the bedroom, into the study. A quick stop to eat a bite and then he is off to the living room, under the couch, around the dining table, into the kitchen. Then with the precision of a racecar driver, rounding the curve to head back through the living room onto the scratching pad to sharpen his claws. And neck in neck with his imagined opponent, he’d race back in the bedroom and back to his post at the headboard.
What was truly amazing was his total discipline. Every morning, before most self-respecting Olympic athletes would wake up, Sparky would be up and training. In fact, one could say Sparky does more all night than the Army does before 7 am.
Socrates
After his Olympic training ended, my friend would turn into a polemicist. His meows and mews intended to convince me that 4:30am was not only the acceptable time to wake up and get him breakfast, but that it was part of the path to virtue. The form of the good, my feline philosopher would argue, comes in sacrificing my sleep for the greater good. The greater good, he explained in a sophisticated meow, consisted in stopping the rumbles in his belly.
Simba – The Lion
On day four, he became the hunting lion. He slowly moved into position to watch his prey from a safe spot where he could wait for the opportune moment. His patience like that of an Army sniper or a professional photographer…waiting for the perfect moment for the perfect shot.
He knew his prey was unaware of his silent approach. He slid forward as if floating on the air, eyes fixed on the prey. And at the perfect moment, he pounced. My unsuspecting toe, which, I apparently wiggle in my sleep, was the victim of Sparky’s lion attack. The small amount of blood he drew must have sated him, because he’s kept the Simba personality caged since then.
The Sophomore
He’s now been here a few weeks and another personality emerged: the sophomoric prankster. As I write this, he is constantly batting at the pen. If I stop to pet him, he’s not interested. When I start to write again, he makes the pen his play thing. The same thing happens when I type on the computer or read a book or do just about anything. When this personality comes out, you are at the mercy of a cat with a sense of humor.
The Stoic
One last personality hiding within this little beast is the stoic observer. Sparky climbs to the highest spot in the room to observe, to watch, to judge, without emotion. Often he assumes this posture as he watches out one of the windows. His watchful eyes catch everything. He acts as if he’s all knowing and totally indifferent.
I think my favorite personality of his is the one I call Sparky. The one that climbs on my lap, starts to purr, and, as I pet him, gradually begins to knead my pants. It is as if I’ve given a chocoholic “Death By Chocolate Ice Cream”. His enjoyment is complete and totally consumes him.
Sometimes this Sparky comes out as I’m reading. I’ll be on my back holding the book at a 90 degree angle on my chest and Sparky will nestle between my body and my upper arm making a home for himself. So I think I’ll keep calling him Sparky to keep this personality alive.
Wednesday Whim
Last Wednesday night I didn’t have any specific plans. I remembered that they have mini-regattas at Cherry Creek Reservoir for keelboats and thought it would be fun to watch or even to crew on a short staffed boat. I was lucky—I got to crew on one of the fast U20 boats.
The U20 was Tom’s boat, who was clearly an experienced sailor. He was in his mid-50’s and wore a baseball hat with a chin strap to keep it from flying off in the wind. His belt was fabric with the logo of USA Sailing printed on it, and he had a pair of custom made prescription sunglasses designed for being on the water. Tom gave clear direct orders, which he expected to be followed ASAP. At the same time, he was patient enough to explain what he meant and allow for inexperience. I found out later that Tom sailed for 22 years and was the judge for most of the regional regattas. I could tell that Tom not only wanted to sail, but to win!
Tom’s normal crew wasn’t there, so Diane and I were his back up crew, his scabs. Diane was also a new sailor. She took up sailing recently because her boyfriend was a big time sailor and she wanted to join in the fun. So we had an experienced skipper and two newbies on the boat.
After we got out of the dock area we hoisted the main and set sail. As we were heading toward the sailing club’s “regulation” boat, Tom asked me “How long have you been sailing?”
“About a year. I took Victoria Sailing Schools Courses.” I was eager to impress him that I knew something about sailing.
Instead, he instructed Diane to get out the life jackets. He joked “Given the experience of the crew, we just might need them. So, Jason, what do you know about sailboat races”
Feeling a bit humbled as I put on my life vest, I said, “nothing except that the first guy across the finish line wins.”
Tom chuckled, “Well, that’s not necessarily true. Each boat is given a handicap and your time is factored by that handicap.”
So I corrected myself and said that I knew nothing about racing.
As we passed the “regulation” boat, they had the numbers 62 posted on the side. Tom explained that every week they were given a different set of buoys as a course. So today, we had to beat upwind to buoy six then run back to buoy two and back to the finish line.
The regulators set off a horn to indicate that we had five minutes to get ready. So we had to “pace” in the water for five minutes to try to be as close to the line, without crossing it, as possible at the time the race started. We sailed south on a beam reach then make a u-turn, tacking through the wind and heading north on the opposite point of sail. At the same time, we had to avoid all of the other boats. I was amazed at how close each of the boats would come to each other without a collision.
Finally, we got the signal: thirty seconds to go. We headed toward the line, but the boat in front of us was intentionally cutting us off. Dirty sailing trick! Since they were on the starboard tack and we were on port tack, they had the right of way. It cost us time because we had to circle back and to make it through the starting line.
We started the race a little behind, but not too far behind. We weren’t the last ones through the line. The boat was fast enough to make up for time lost, although our boat’s low handicap worked against us.
At this point, we were close hauled and making our way towards buoy six. Tom was explaining when we were going to tack and why. He chose his moment so we could either give ourselves the right of way or to “steal” another boat’s wind. Again he came within a few feet of hitting another boat, and no one else flinched.
When you are close hauled, you are sailing almost directly into the wind and the boat tends to tilt in the water. To give the boat more speed, I was all the way at the top end of the boat hanging my legs overboard to give as much counterweight as possible. Tom yelled, “ready to tack” and I had to swing my legs back over the side before he yelled “tacking”. I managed the ropes attached to the front sail and made it to the other side of the boat as we went through the eye of the wind. I was used to doing this slowly, but since we were racing I really had to perform.
We were approaching buoy six. Tom had explained how we were going to launch the spinnaker for our run down to buoy two. We had extended the spinnaker pole out in front of the boat. Diane was responsible for letting the spinnaker sail out as I pulled the halyard. Within minutes, this giant multicolored parachute looking sail was up in front of the boat. Tom had me adjust the spinnaker’s trim as we sailed to the next buoy. I had to continuously let out the sail until it started to fold up and then pull it back in until it was full of wind.
As we reached buoy two, we had to jibe, which means to put the rear of the boat through the back of the wind. This can be dangerous because the boom of the main sail can forcefully switch sides of the boat. If you are on the wrong side of it, you can get knocked pretty hard.
After we rounded buoy two, Diane and I pulled in the spinnaker. We only had two tacks to get to the finish line.
As we finished up, Tom told Diane that she had done well. And then he said “Jason, not bad for your first time out.” From a captain like that, I imagine that was high praise.
As we put the boat up, I couldn’t believe that only three hours ago, I was just formulating the idea to come down to the marina. And there I was at the end of my first sail boat race. I can’t wait until the next Wednesday I can make it.
PS I looked up the results the next day on the internet. We came in second! Not bad for a newbie crew.
Originally Posted 7/12/05
The U20 was Tom’s boat, who was clearly an experienced sailor. He was in his mid-50’s and wore a baseball hat with a chin strap to keep it from flying off in the wind. His belt was fabric with the logo of USA Sailing printed on it, and he had a pair of custom made prescription sunglasses designed for being on the water. Tom gave clear direct orders, which he expected to be followed ASAP. At the same time, he was patient enough to explain what he meant and allow for inexperience. I found out later that Tom sailed for 22 years and was the judge for most of the regional regattas. I could tell that Tom not only wanted to sail, but to win!
Tom’s normal crew wasn’t there, so Diane and I were his back up crew, his scabs. Diane was also a new sailor. She took up sailing recently because her boyfriend was a big time sailor and she wanted to join in the fun. So we had an experienced skipper and two newbies on the boat.
After we got out of the dock area we hoisted the main and set sail. As we were heading toward the sailing club’s “regulation” boat, Tom asked me “How long have you been sailing?”
“About a year. I took Victoria Sailing Schools Courses.” I was eager to impress him that I knew something about sailing.
Instead, he instructed Diane to get out the life jackets. He joked “Given the experience of the crew, we just might need them. So, Jason, what do you know about sailboat races”
Feeling a bit humbled as I put on my life vest, I said, “nothing except that the first guy across the finish line wins.”
Tom chuckled, “Well, that’s not necessarily true. Each boat is given a handicap and your time is factored by that handicap.”
So I corrected myself and said that I knew nothing about racing.
As we passed the “regulation” boat, they had the numbers 62 posted on the side. Tom explained that every week they were given a different set of buoys as a course. So today, we had to beat upwind to buoy six then run back to buoy two and back to the finish line.
The regulators set off a horn to indicate that we had five minutes to get ready. So we had to “pace” in the water for five minutes to try to be as close to the line, without crossing it, as possible at the time the race started. We sailed south on a beam reach then make a u-turn, tacking through the wind and heading north on the opposite point of sail. At the same time, we had to avoid all of the other boats. I was amazed at how close each of the boats would come to each other without a collision.
Finally, we got the signal: thirty seconds to go. We headed toward the line, but the boat in front of us was intentionally cutting us off. Dirty sailing trick! Since they were on the starboard tack and we were on port tack, they had the right of way. It cost us time because we had to circle back and to make it through the starting line.
We started the race a little behind, but not too far behind. We weren’t the last ones through the line. The boat was fast enough to make up for time lost, although our boat’s low handicap worked against us.
At this point, we were close hauled and making our way towards buoy six. Tom was explaining when we were going to tack and why. He chose his moment so we could either give ourselves the right of way or to “steal” another boat’s wind. Again he came within a few feet of hitting another boat, and no one else flinched.
When you are close hauled, you are sailing almost directly into the wind and the boat tends to tilt in the water. To give the boat more speed, I was all the way at the top end of the boat hanging my legs overboard to give as much counterweight as possible. Tom yelled, “ready to tack” and I had to swing my legs back over the side before he yelled “tacking”. I managed the ropes attached to the front sail and made it to the other side of the boat as we went through the eye of the wind. I was used to doing this slowly, but since we were racing I really had to perform.
We were approaching buoy six. Tom had explained how we were going to launch the spinnaker for our run down to buoy two. We had extended the spinnaker pole out in front of the boat. Diane was responsible for letting the spinnaker sail out as I pulled the halyard. Within minutes, this giant multicolored parachute looking sail was up in front of the boat. Tom had me adjust the spinnaker’s trim as we sailed to the next buoy. I had to continuously let out the sail until it started to fold up and then pull it back in until it was full of wind.
As we reached buoy two, we had to jibe, which means to put the rear of the boat through the back of the wind. This can be dangerous because the boom of the main sail can forcefully switch sides of the boat. If you are on the wrong side of it, you can get knocked pretty hard.
After we rounded buoy two, Diane and I pulled in the spinnaker. We only had two tacks to get to the finish line.
As we finished up, Tom told Diane that she had done well. And then he said “Jason, not bad for your first time out.” From a captain like that, I imagine that was high praise.
As we put the boat up, I couldn’t believe that only three hours ago, I was just formulating the idea to come down to the marina. And there I was at the end of my first sail boat race. I can’t wait until the next Wednesday I can make it.
PS I looked up the results the next day on the internet. We came in second! Not bad for a newbie crew.
Originally Posted 7/12/05
Analogy for Value Investing
I am trying to work out an alalogy on value investing compared with those traders who used to travel in caravans. (I got this idea from reading The Walking Drum by L'amour).
So the idea was that a trader would start out with a small amount of capital, goods or money. They would buy the things that were made where ever he currently was to trade in the next place the caravan stopped. The trader would sell the goods and buy other goods that were cheap in this town to sell in the next. By doing this over and over again, the trader would amass wealth.
The better the trader was as recognizing bargains or opportunities to buy low and sell high, the more quickly he would get rich. The primary way of increasing the value was by moving the goods from a place where the goods are cheap to where they are expensive. I think of this as "space arbitrage".
Value investing is the same thing. Finding goods (stocks) which are cheap and selling them when they are fairly valued. The big difference is that instead of having the goods/stocks increase in value because of moving them, it is in the change in the market's value of the property. I think this is a kind of "perception arbitrage".
I don't know that this is a perfect analogy and am still working on it.
Originally Posted 8/26/05
So the idea was that a trader would start out with a small amount of capital, goods or money. They would buy the things that were made where ever he currently was to trade in the next place the caravan stopped. The trader would sell the goods and buy other goods that were cheap in this town to sell in the next. By doing this over and over again, the trader would amass wealth.
The better the trader was as recognizing bargains or opportunities to buy low and sell high, the more quickly he would get rich. The primary way of increasing the value was by moving the goods from a place where the goods are cheap to where they are expensive. I think of this as "space arbitrage".
Value investing is the same thing. Finding goods (stocks) which are cheap and selling them when they are fairly valued. The big difference is that instead of having the goods/stocks increase in value because of moving them, it is in the change in the market's value of the property. I think this is a kind of "perception arbitrage".
I don't know that this is a perfect analogy and am still working on it.
Originally Posted 8/26/05
London attacked by terrorists
It is hard to sustain outrage. After September 11, I thought I would never stop being angry about it. That I would never forget. I haven't forgotten, but I haven't felt that sense or outrage.
I'm posting a list of things we should be outraged about. The list is written by John Lewis, a professor of history at Ashland University. It is a list of the terrorist attacks against the west by middle eastern groups.I think this is evidence that unless we do something drastic, principled and focused on the root of the problem, we will see more of these attacks. And what is worse is that there will probably be something worse than September 11 on the course we are headed now.
Originally Posted 7/7/05
I'm posting a list of things we should be outraged about. The list is written by John Lewis, a professor of history at Ashland University. It is a list of the terrorist attacks against the west by middle eastern groups.I think this is evidence that unless we do something drastic, principled and focused on the root of the problem, we will see more of these attacks. And what is worse is that there will probably be something worse than September 11 on the course we are headed now.
Originally Posted 7/7/05
Island Economics
I just got back from my vacation in Hawaii and I wanted to share my thoughts on the business side of the vacation.
- Hawaiian real estate has gone through the roof like California and many East Coast cities. This is going to be a challenge for their economy because most of the people who live there can't afford housing. Most of the demand has come from out of state buyers looking for a vacation home. In the mountain resorts the locals deal with this by living in the cheaper communities farther away from the resorts. On an Island you can't do this. It will be interesting to see how this turns out. My thoughts: eventually Hawaiian locals will have to move to a place with better economic opportunity which will increase the wages the resorts will have to pay to keep their employees.
- Gambling is apparently the pastime of choice for the Hawaiian natives. I had a lengthy discussion with a local about cock fighting. As with any "vice", making it illegal tends to make it thrive.
- Grocery shopping was fascinating. Anything grown on the island was dirt cheap. Anything imported was outrageously expensive. You can see this same effect in your local Safeway or Kroger, but not to this extreme. This is definitely an argument for specialization, outsourcing, and international trade.
- The Kauai coffee plantation makes great coffee, but somehow you never see it stateside. It is much better than Kona, which means that Kona must have some good marketing.
Originally Posted 6/27/05
Three ways
According to valuation theory, there are only three ways to value anything: cost, market, and income.
As it applies to real estate, the Cost is the replacement cost new less deprectiation plus the land value. This is typically used on brand new buildings, old buildings whose structure has little value, and special purpose properties.
The market approach is the process of comparing similar sales to the subject property and making adjustments to the sale price to determine the subject's estimated sale price.
The income approach is the present worth of the rent that could be collected from a particular property. It can be calculated via discounted cash flow or by capitalization (like the inverse of a P/E ratio).
As this applies to stock investing, there was a good section in Bruce Greenwald's book using adjusted book value of Intel to determine when it is over/under valued. I think this is the best example of using the "cost" approach to value a company.
Using the sales comparison approach is common among investors. In J. Dennis Jean-Jacques's book, he recommended keeping a "sales" database by watching mergers and acquisitions in the paper.
The income approach is familiar to anyone who has heard of P/E ratios or DCF's. But I will add that going through a formal DCF for a commercial property and estimating when certain capital improvements will be made is very illuminating.
Originally Posted 6/13/05
As it applies to real estate, the Cost is the replacement cost new less deprectiation plus the land value. This is typically used on brand new buildings, old buildings whose structure has little value, and special purpose properties.
The market approach is the process of comparing similar sales to the subject property and making adjustments to the sale price to determine the subject's estimated sale price.
The income approach is the present worth of the rent that could be collected from a particular property. It can be calculated via discounted cash flow or by capitalization (like the inverse of a P/E ratio).
As this applies to stock investing, there was a good section in Bruce Greenwald's book using adjusted book value of Intel to determine when it is over/under valued. I think this is the best example of using the "cost" approach to value a company.
Using the sales comparison approach is common among investors. In J. Dennis Jean-Jacques's book, he recommended keeping a "sales" database by watching mergers and acquisitions in the paper.
The income approach is familiar to anyone who has heard of P/E ratios or DCF's. But I will add that going through a formal DCF for a commercial property and estimating when certain capital improvements will be made is very illuminating.
Originally Posted 6/13/05
The Warren Buffett CEO
I just finished reading "The Warren Buffett CEO" by Robert Miles. I recommend this book highly for both a general business audience and value investors.
The book is set up as a series of profiles of the CEOs of Berkshire's wholly owned companies. The business stories are compelling and offer genuine insights into business, investing, and life. Miles leads us to understand how Buffett selects his CEOs and makes us admire all of these heroic business people.
A secondary focus of the book is the continuation of Berkshire post Buffett. After reading the book, I feel confident that Buffett has stamped his personality so well on the company that it will continue for generations.In short, it's a good read.
Originally Posted 7/7/05
The book is set up as a series of profiles of the CEOs of Berkshire's wholly owned companies. The business stories are compelling and offer genuine insights into business, investing, and life. Miles leads us to understand how Buffett selects his CEOs and makes us admire all of these heroic business people.
A secondary focus of the book is the continuation of Berkshire post Buffett. After reading the book, I feel confident that Buffett has stamped his personality so well on the company that it will continue for generations.In short, it's a good read.
Originally Posted 7/7/05
Incarnation 2
This is my secong go at a blog. I'm going to transfer some of my best posts, but I think this one will be much better.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)